Earning an Oscars nomination in the worlds prestigious awards ceremony is something that India has always aspired for. Films to have earned a nomination so far from India include Mother India (1957), Salaam Bombay! (1988) and Lagaan (2001). However, This year several short films and mainstream movies have entered the Oscar 2021 race from India. Here are the films on which people have high hopes from this year.
List of Indian Films In The Oscars 2021 Race
In 2021, several Indian short films are eyeing to get a spot on the nominations list of the 2021 Academy Awards. There’s Keith Gomes’ “Shameless”, Tushar Tyagi’s “Saving Chintu”, and Shaan Vyas’ “Natkhat” aiming for the live-action short category, and then there is Saurav Vishnu’s “Tailing Pond” that’s going for the documentary short subject category.
Also, Indo-Canadian filmmaker Deepa Mehta has scored her second entry to Academy Award nomination. After “Water”, the third film from her elements trilogy in 2007, her directorial “Funny Boy” will represent Canada in the race for best international feature film at the 2021 Oscars.
Shameless
Shameless is eligible for the 93rd Oscar Consideration in the “live action short film” category at the 2021 Academy Awards. Written and Directed by Keith Gomes while produced by Shabinaa Entertainment, Ashley Gomes, Sandeep Kamal, Keith Gomes. Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan and Telugu Actor Ram Charan Tej released the trailer of this amazing film.
Jallikattu
Award-winning Malayalam film Jallikattu is India’s official entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Oscars. The mallu action-drama, produced by O. Thomas Panicker, is written and directed by Lijo Jose Pellissery. It is based on the short story Maoist by Hareesh. It stars Antony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, Jaffar Idukki, Santhy Balachandran and others.
Saving Chintu
As the industry is gradually opening doors to LGBTQ+ community, this Tushar Tyagi film highlights the same and also focuses on issues like HIV-AIDS and child adoption. The film produced by Ritika Jayaswal and Adil Hussain is a tale of a queer couple living in New York who comes to India to adopt Chintu, a child suffering from HIV-AIDS. This 30-minute movie has been inspired from real-life incidents.
Natkhat
Another short film starring Vidya Balan has made it to the Oscars 2021 race. The 33-minute long film on rape culture showcases the relationship between a mother and a son who lives in a patriarchal home. Directed by Shaan Vyas and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Vidya Balan, the film was screened at several prestigious international film festivals.
Tailing Pond
Saurav Vishnu’s Tailing Pond that’s going for the documentary short subject category in Oscar race 2021. Tailing Pond, directed by Saurav Vishnu, tells the story of Jadugora, a village in Jharkhand that is practically hidden from India and the rest of the world’s eyes so that the Government can mine uranium and dump its waste in the titular pond. Tailing Pond has been distributed globally and exclusively by Shorts TV, this film was qualified for consideration for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Documentary – Short category.
Bittu
After winning multiple accolades and being screened at 18 festivals, short-film Bittu shortlisted in the Oscars 2021 race. Based on a true story, Bittu is a heartwarming tale of friendship between two young school-going girls based on a backdrop of a tragic incident. Directed by Karishma Dev Dube, Bittu had won Student Academy Awards in 2020, which also “makes it eligible for the 2021 Oscars in the best live action short category,” reports Variety.
Soorarai Pottru
Tamil movie Soorarai Pottru, which released on OTT platform Amazon Prime starring South Indian star Suriya has joined the Oscar race under multiple categories. The film is eligible to be nominated under multiple categories that include Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director as well as Best Original Score among others.
The film has already been selected for screening at 78th Golden Globe Awards, which will be held in Los Angeles on Feb 28, 2021.
Read: 2021 Oscars Shortlisted Movies
